Nobuhiro Mashiro
Nobuhiro Mashiro ''' is Moritaka Mashiro's late uncle whose pen name was '''Kawaguchi Taro. He is the reason Mashiro knows so much about manga. He loved Azuki Miho's mother, Miyuki Haruno from afar. He wrote letters to her but could never tell her he loved her until he felt successful enough to do it. He was best friends with Miyoshi Kaya's father, Yosshi Miyoshi, in high school. He wrote a gag manga, Superhero Legend because he wasn't a good artist; despite getting good grades in art class, his skills were subpar compared to most professional manga artists. He was still remembered by the editors long after his passing. Mashiro and Takagi use his former apartment studio. He died from overwork trying to get published again. Moritaka initially believed he had committed suicide, and was thus dissuaded from wanting to become a mangaka, but after realizing that he had never given up, he decided to pursue his career with the same determination as his uncle had. Appearance He is scruffy looking man, with his hair held in a loose ponytail, and a bit of stubble. He wears round glasses and often holds a cigarette. He is rather uncaring of his appearance, often being seen in a t-shirt and shorts while in his studio. When he was younger, his hair was short and smoothed out and he had yet to grow facial hair or wear glasses. Personality Nobuhiro seems to be very laid-back and friendly. But he was a very hard-working man as shown when he died from overwork as a mangaka. When he was younger, he was not the most popular kid in class, but he had a good sense of humor and was always joking around. Nobuhiro was also especially determined, and refused to let failure dissuade him. Even after learning that Miyuki had gotten married, he continued writing out of the belief that she was still watching him progress, and she did, in fact, she glanced at Shonen Jump to read his manga. After being told that his contract had been canceled, he told Sasaki that he saw it as an opportunity to start over as a newbie, and submitted finished drafts until five days before his death. Nobuhiro believes in three rules for mangakas who are not geniuses; 1) conceit 2) hardwork 3) luck. Manga Nobuhiro created Super Hero Legend, a gag manga. After that ended, he made two unsuccessful works. Legacy Following his death, Nobu continued to influence others. His old editor, now the Editor in Chief was moved by the last words he told him and follows it as his personal philosophy when choosing manga for Jump. Moritaka and Akito were inspired by him to become mangakas and use his old studio for their manga. Even though its popularity dropped, Super Hero Legend is still beloved by Orihara and Miho. Trivia *Nobuhiro could be compared to Hiroshi Gamo, a real-life mangaka famous for his gag manga and speculated to be Tsugumi Ohba. *It is possible that the name "Taro" is derived from Kagami Taro from the Death Note pilot story. It is also possible that "Taro" came from Tomorrow's Joe (Moritaka Mashiro's favorite manga). *His name is almost similar to Nobuhiro Watsuki whom used to be Takeshi Obata's assistant. Ironically, his editor was also Sasaki. *Nobuhiro died in 2006. Quotes *(To Sasaki) "Manga just needs to be good to be serialized." *(To Moritaka Mashiro) "However, I've been able to come this far because she was around. I can continue drawing manga without giving up because I still believe that she's watching me. She wouldn't be able to see my progress if I was just an ordinary businessman, right?" External links の Category:Male Characters Category:Bakuman Characters Category:Mangaka Category:Gambler